Admirals Rally But Fall in Overtime to Falcons

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Matt Fornataro’s goal early in the third period helped the Admirals to erase a 2-1 third period deficit. However, Liam Reddox scored 1:32 into overtime as the Norfolk Admirals (21-23-3-0) fell to the Springfield Falcons (16-24-8-2) 3-2 on Friday night at the MassMutual Center and saw their four-game winning streak end.

Despite the loss, the Admirals have gained nine of a possible ten points thus far on their seven-game road trip and have moved to fourth place in the AHL’s East Division. The sixth game of that trip is a pivotal East Division matchup tomorrow evening against the third place Adirondack Phantoms at 7:00.

After a scoreless first period, the Admirals broke a 0-0 tie 11:02 into the second period. Juraj Simek sent a pass to Radek Smolenak at the top of the left circle. Smolenak skated through to the bottom of the circle as Simek skated into the slot. Smolenak centered the puck into the slot and Simek one-timed the pass over the right leg of Falcons goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur for his 12th goal of the season.

However, Springfield leveled the score at 1-1 just over two minutes later. Viacheslav Trukhno sent a shot from the left circle that bounced off the pads of Norfolk goaltender Jaroslav Janus and ricocheted into the right circle. Colton Fretter one-timed the rebound past Janus stick-side at 13:03.

The Falcons took a 2-1 lead just over three minutes later. Charles Linglet sent a backhand pass from behind the net into the high slot. Alex Plante sent a slap shot through traffic that found its mark at 16:15.

The Admirals tied the game at 2-2 just 24 seconds into the third period with a four-on-three power play goal. Ty Wishart sent a pass from the top of the right circle to Matt Fornataro just inside the top of the left circle. Fornataro one-timed the pass into the net between the glove and left leg of Levasseur for his third goal of the season.

In overtime, Liam Reddox skated through the right circle and cut around an Admirals defenseman into the slot before sending a shot between the legs of Janus at 1:32 for the game-winning goal.

The Admirals continue their seven-game road trip tomorrow night with a pivotal East Division matchup against the Adirondack Phantoms. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. All games are broadcast on STAR 1310-AM, star1310.com and ahllive.com.

The Admirals will return to Norfolk Scope Arena to kick off a six-game homestand on Wednesday against the Hershey Bears. That game will be another Family Fun Pack Night and Student Rush Night. Family Fun Packs include four discounted Red Level Tickets for just $48 plus four free hot dogs, four free popcorns and four free sodas. Fans get all of that for just $48 – that’s a savings of $37!

Student Rush Nights, brought to you by Pit Bull Energy Drink and Baxter’s Sports Lounge, provide $8 White Level Tickets (normally $12) for high school and college students with a valid current high school or college ID. In addition, when you buy a Student Rush Night Ticket, you get a buy-one, get-one free offer for the next Student Rush Night. On top of that, you get discounted food at Baxter’s Sports Lounge (located right across the street from Scope) on the day of the game.

Admirals Family Fun Packs are available at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com. Student Rush Night Tickets are available ONLY at the Scope Box Office after 2:00 p.m. on the day of the game.

For a complete schedule and details of the promotions, please visit norfolkadmirals.com or call (757) 640-1212.

To purchase tickets to any Admirals game, you may visit the Scope Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., visit any Ticketmaster outlet, call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or visit Ticketmaster online at ticketmaster.com. Don’t miss a minute of the action by purchasing your 2009-10 season tickets today. Stop by the Admirals’ Administrative Offices at Scope, call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit norfolkadmirals.com anytime!

NOTES … With the point for the overtime loss coupled with a victory for the Adirondack Phantoms and a loss for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Norfolk (21-23-3-0, 45 points, 47 games played) has moved past the Penguins (21-22-1-1, 44 points, 45 games played) for fourth place in the American Hockey League’s East Division and trail the Phantoms (22-20-2-1, 47 points, 45 games played) by two points for third place … Matt Fornataro has points in four of his last five games (3G, 2A) … Radek Smolenak had two assists tonight and has points in three of his last four games (2G, 4A) … With the primary assist on Fornataro's goal, Ty Wishart now has points in five of his last seven games (3G, 5A) … Including a 5-4 victory at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on January 6, the Admirals have points in six consecutive road games (5-0-1-0) … Scratches: Lukas Krajicek, Mitch Fritz … Attendance: 3,092.